title: A lithography-free pathway for chemical microstructuring of macromolecules from aqueous solution based on wrinkling.
abstract: We report on a novel lithography-free method for obtaining chemical submicron patterns of macromolecules on flat substrates. The approach is an advancement of the well-known microcontact printing scheme: While for classical microcontact printing lithographically produced masters are needed, we show that controlled wrinkling can serve as an alternative pathway to producing such masters. These can even show submicron periodicities. We expect upscaling to larger areas to be considerably simpler than that for existing techniques, as wrinkling results in a macroscopic deformation process that is not limited in terms of substrate size. Using this approach, we demonstrate successful printing of aqueous solutions of polyelectrolytes and proteins. We study the effectiveness of the stamping process and its limits in terms of periodicities and heights of the stamps' topographical features. We find that critical wavelengths are well below 355 nm and critical amplitudes are below 40 nm and clarify the failure mechanism in this regime. This will permit further optimization of the approach in the future.
authors.affiliation: Physical Chemistry Department, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pretzl
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schweikart
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hanske
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiche
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Zettl
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Horn
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Böker
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fery
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods; D002417:Cattle; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000032:analysis; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D008422:Materials Testing; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D011073:Polyamines / Q000032:analysis; D011095:Polyethylenes / Q000032:analysis; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000032:analysis; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000032:analysis; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D004573:Electrolytes; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011073:Polyamines; D011095:Polyethylenes; D011137:Polystyrenes; D011506:Proteins; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; C041004:poly-N,N-dimethyl-N,N-diallylammonium chloride; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; C063994:polyallylamine; C003321:polystyrene sulfonic acid